An untarnished view of history not found in history books

What we read in history books is invariably massaged and edited from what really happened. Not necessarily a bad thing, but how things are remembered depends a lot on how our perspective changes over time. 

But I had a crystal clear glimpse into our past recently when I happened upon a collection of old magazines at a yard sale. I bought a 1937 Life, 1944 Colliers and 1962 Saturday Evening Post.

All were similar in format although Life had more news and photos.

A few highlights:
1937 was during the depths of the Great Depression. Unemployment was 15 percent, yet you’d never know it by reading that issue of Life. No stories about poverty or the New Deal. There were plenty of ads for Colgate toothpaste (20 cents), Sal Hepatica for colds, the Bell System, and Campbell’s Soups (“I’ve stopped making soup at home.”) Seagram’s whiskey was said to help men “keep in trim” and “sleep better.” Glovers Mange Medicine warned men that “Dandruff causes baldness.”

The most surprising article was a 27-photo spread glorifying Nazi Hermann Goering, as “a slim young artillery lieutenant” and how he shot down 20 Allied planes while “crippled by rheumatism.” It even included photos about his wedding — “an elaborate social event.”

Yes, this was before the war, but there was already plenty of evidence of how the Nazis were already treating the Jews. I spoke to the curator of the U.S. Holocaust Museum about that. To my surprise he told me that many Americans initially looked up to Hitler and the Nazis. That he was a bulwark against Communism, created jobs and brought Germany from the brink of collapse.

Many were convinced he was a Christian. The U.S. media glossed over reports of persecution of Jews, although by the following year-1938, U.S. public opinion had begun to turn against Hitler.

The 1944 Colliers was the most interesting. There was no mistaking that there was a war on. The paper was thinner. Subscriptions were limited due to paper shortages. Almost all the ads had a wartime theme and advised “Buy war bonds.”

BF Goodrich’s ad showed a heavy duty vehicle pulling a tank out of the mud and then commented that their tires were only available if you had official authorization to buy tires. One ad for Ace combs said ”until rubber is again available, Ace combs cannot be made.” Imagine advertising even though your product is not available.

The War Advertising Council discouraged people from asking for pay raises, saying it hurt the war effort. They also advised “pay taxes willingly,” “pay off old debts, don’t make new ones,” and “buy only what you need.” Another admonition was “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” Something an environmentalist might say today.

Many ads such as Vaseline hair tonic used pictures of handsome soldiers in crisp uniforms. Even with the current positive view of the military, I can’t recall seeing soldiers being used as advertising actors today.

Even though victory was well over a year away, there were a number of references to “peacetime” and “after the war is over” which sounded like there was real optimism that the Allies would prevail. I asked someone who lived during that time, and they recalled that it wasn’t so much optimism as it was hope. And hope was good for morale.

Although only 18 years apart, the difference between the 1944 and 1962 magazines was marked — there were more pages on thicker paper. The economy was booming. Cigarette ads were essentially unchanged from ’38 and ‘44, still saying how their product was less irritating to the throat. Pipe tobacco was advertised almost as much as cigarettes.

I understand that history books need to summarize the big events, but that often means things get changed. But an old magazine gives a more untarnished version of what people were doing and thinking about in an earlier era. They should be part of our history education.

Legge’s column runs every other Thursday on the editorial page.